Godzilla
Godzilla, also known in Japanese as Gojira, is the main protagonist of the Godzilla franchise, including the movie series, comics, cartoons and video games. He is a famous daikaijū, or a Giant movie monster, who first appeared as the titular sole primary antagonist of Ishirō Honda's 1954 classic giant monster film, Gojira. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in over 28 Japanese films produced by Toho Co., Ltd., and 2 American films; 1 film released in 1998, produced by TriStar Pictures and featuring Zilla and another film released in 2014 by Legendary Pictures with a future trilogy in production. The 1998 version is widely disfavoured and is not considered a Godzilla film whilst the 2014 version was generally positively received and is ''considered to be a Godzilla film. With the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki still fresh in the Japanese consciousness, Godzilla was conceived as a monster created by nuclear detonations and a metaphor for nuclear weapons in general. As the film series expanded, the stories took on less serious undertones portraying Godzilla in the role of a hero or an ally of humans, but only when facing a common foe or to protect planet Earth. Sometimes he is admired by children, but even in these depictions, most humans still fear Godzilla. In some films, Godzilla has even teamed up with fellow monsters to save the world or themselves, usually teaming with Rodan and Mothra. Godzilla's most famous enemies are known to be King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla. History Showa series The Showa-era Godzilla films were among the first of the entire film series. In total, there are fifteen Showa-era films, amounting to over half the total Godzilla movies currently in existence. The first film, made in 1954, was simply titled ''Godzilla. In the original film, Godzilla was portrayed as a terrible and destructive monster. Following the success of''Godzilla'', Toho started filming a quickie sequel called Godzilla Raids Again. In this film, a new Godzilla was set up to fight another dinosaur-like creature, Anguirus. This second film started a trend for Godzilla films, where Godzilla would fight other giant monsters In his fifth film, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla took the role of a hero. From that point on, to the end of the Showa series, Godzilla stayed a hero, protecting Japan against attacks from other monsters, aliens, etc. At one point, Godzilla even adopted a son, Minilla, in Son of Godzilla, who would make appearances in later Showa-era films. The Showa-era movies played on a lot of fears and interests of people during the period in which they were made. For instance, Godzilla was a movie designed to warn people about the use and testing of nuclear weapons. Likewise, Godzilla vs. Hedorah was designed to carry a message about the dangers of pollution. As space exploration and the Space Age were extremely popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many of Godzilla's films revolved around Godzilla fighting alien monsters, or involved an alien invasion in some shape or form. For instance, in the movie Destroy All Monsters, an alien race had managed to take control of all of Earth's monsters, who were eventually freed from their control, and destroyed the aliens who had put them under control. He serves as the main antagonist of Godzilla Raids Again, King Kong Vs Godzilla and Mothra Vs Godzilla ''and serves as the main protagonist of ''Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Invasion of Astro-Monster, Godzilla vs the Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, All Monsters Attack, Godzilla vs Hedorah, Godzilla vs Gigan, Godzilla vs Megalon, Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla ''and ''Terror of Mechagodzilla. Heisei series The Heisei-era Godzilla films were the second of the film series. In total, there were seven Heisei-era films, making them amount to one fourth of the total Godzilla movies in existence. The Heisei-era films differed drastically from the Showa-era films in a variety of ways. The most prominent difference is that Toho did away with Godzilla being the hero of the films. While occasionally Godzilla would take the role of an antihero, he was still consistently portrayed as hazardous to humanity throughout the films. The Godzilla outfit was updated to look more realistic and much more intimidating than previous suits. Another significant difference is that the series was given an overall plotline with story arcs. Each movie happened in some sort of sequence, and generally referenced previous movies to further the plot of the series. As in the Showa era, in the first Godzilla movie of the Heisei era, The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla was the only monster to make an appearance. All succeeding Heisei-era movies would have Godzilla fight other giant monsters. Like the Showa series, Godzilla adopted a son, Baby Godzilla, as his own child. In the final Heisei-era movie, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Godzilla dies after undergoing a nuclear meltdown, and his son (by that point almost half as tall as his father and called Godzilla Junior) absorbs the radiation and quickly matures to become the new King of the Monsters. In much the same way that the Showa-era played on fears and interests of people during the time period of production, Heisei-era Godzilla films made some attempts at making statements on popular topics for their time period. One good example would be Godzilla vs. Biollante, which made explicit warnings against research involving genetic engineering. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah touched on US-Japanese relations stemming from World War II and introduced a time-travel plot. Other themes in the movies included commenting on research into hazardous material and making environmental statements. He serves as the titular primary antagonist of The Return of Godzilla, the final main antagonist of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and the true main antagonist of Godzilla vs. Mothra ''and serves as the main protagonist in ''Godzilla vs Biollante, Godzilla vs Mechagozilla II, Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla, ''and ''Godzilla vs Destoroyah. American remake In 1998, TriStar Pictures produced a remake set in New York City, directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Matthew Broderick; the film's name was simply 'Godzilla'. Despite negative reviews from film critics and negative reception from the fans of the original Japanese Godzilla, the film made over $379 million at the box office, and spawned an animated television series called Godzilla: The Series, which drew much better reception all-around. However, the 1998 film was still a weak leak in the franchise and being a complete flop, all sequels were cancelled. Toho classifies the monster in this movie as Zilla, and it was featured briefly in their film Godzilla: Final Wars. Makers of this film stated in cinematic magazine interviews that the American incarnation of the monster did not merit having "God" in his name. Millennium series The Millennium series of Godzilla films are the third and currently last of the film series. There are six of these films, making them slightly under a fourth the total of the series. The Millennium series attempted to bring Godzilla back to his roots by eliminating a few of the things that the Heisei-era films had done. The most notable of these changes are, with one exception, the lack of any real continuity in the movies. Godzilla is, however, still a hazard in the Millennium series and is always a destructive force. He serves as the main antagonist in Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. ''and serves as the main protagonist in ''Godzilla 2000: Millennium, Godzilla vs Megaguirus, ''and ''Godzilla: Final Wars. MonsterVerse Reboot In the 2014 Legendary Pictures reboot, Godzilla is a prehistoric amphibious monster who fed off of Earth's natural radiation and appeared as the titular main anti-heroic protagonist. Over the years, however, as the radiation emitted from the planet gradually declined, Godzilla retreated to the ocean depths, where he could absorb radiation from the Earth's core. In the film, Godzilla was kept a secret by the United States government, who were trying to kill him with atomic "tests." Godzilla comes to restore the balance of nature when theM.U.T.O.s (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms), prehistoric creatures who are the main antagonists of the film, awaken and wreak havoc while traveling to meet each other in San Francisco. Godzilla follows the male, winged M.U.T.O. to San Francisco and arrives. The military fails to stop Godzilla when he arrives at the Golden Gate Bridge and pulls back to allow the monsters to fight. During the ensuing battle between the monsters, Lt. Ford Brody (the main human protagonist of the film) and a team of soldiers enter the city by HALO jump on a mission to disarm the warhead. Unable to disarm it, they take onto a boat for disposal at sea. Meanwhile Godzilla seems to be gaining the upper hand in his battle with the female, until the male arrives and the two gang up on Godzilla, injuring and battering him all over, gaining the upper hand. Ford incinerates the nest of the female MUTO's babies, causing the female to leave the battle while Godzilla regains the advantage and kills the male with a powerful swipe of his tail, impaling the male on wreckage of a nearby building. The female MUTO wipes out the team at the boat, but before she can kill Ford, Godzilla fires his atomic breath down her throat, decapitating her, restoring all power to the city and balance to nature. Godzilla then collapses out of a victorious exhaustion, and Ford pilots the boat out to sea, rescued just before the warhead explodes. The next day, Ford is reunited with his family and Godzilla, thought to be dead, suddenly awakens. He rises and lets out a final roar before returning to the sea with the city cheering and remarking him as a hero. Shin Godzilla When the Japan Coast Guard investigates an abandoned yacht in Tokyo Bay, their boat is destroyed and the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line is flooded. After seeing a viral video of the incident, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Rando Yaguchi theorizes that it was caused by a living creature. His theory is confirmed when news reports show a massive tail emerging from the ocean. Shortly thereafter, the creature moves inland and crawls through the Kamata district of Tokyo in the midst of inadequate evacuation. The creature leaves a path of destruction and numerous casualties, and evolves into a bipedal red-skinned form before it begins to overheat and returns to the sea. The government officials focus on military strategy and civilian safety, while Yaguchi is put in charge of a task force to research the creature. Due to high radiation readings, the group theorizes that it is energized by nuclear fission. The U.S. sends a special envoy, Kayoco Anne Patterson, who reveals that a disgraced, vehemently anti-nuclear zoology professor, Goro Maki, had been studying mutations caused by radioactive contamination and theorized the appearance of the creature, but he is disbelieved by both American and Japanese scientific circles. The U.S. then prevented him from making his conclusions public. The abandoned yacht discovered in Tokyo Bay was Maki's, and he left his research notes, jumbled into a code, in it before disappearing. The creature, named Godzilla after Maki's research, reappears, now twice its original size, and makes landfall near Kamakura en route for Tokyo. The Japan Self-Defense Forces mobilize, but their attacks have no effect and they are forced to withdraw when Godzilla breaks through their defenses into the city. The U.S. intervenes with a massively-destructive air strike plan, prompting the evacuation of civilians and government personnel. U.S. B-2 bombers wound Godzilla with MOP "bunker-buster" bombs. Godzilla recovers quickly and responds with highly destructive atomic rays fired from its mouth and dorsal plates, which hit and destroy the helicopter carrying the top government officials, and two of the B-2s, as well as devastating and irradiating large swaths of Tokyo. Depleting its energy, Godzilla enters a dormant state and becomes immobile. Yaguchi's team discovers that Godzilla's plates and blood work as a cooling system and theorize that they could use a coagulating agent to freeze it. After analyzing tissue samples, they find that Godzilla is an ever-evolving creature, able to reproduce asexually. The United Nations, aware of this, informs Japan that thermonuclear weapons will be used against Godzilla should the Japanese fail to subdue it on their own in a few days. Evacuations are ordered in multiple prefectures in preparation for the nuclear attack. Unwilling to see nuclear weapons detonated in Japan again, Patterson uses her political connections to buy time for Yaguchi's team, who the interim government has little faith in. Yaguchi's team has a breakthrough when they decipher Goro Maki's encoded research. They adjust their plan and procure the means to conduct their deep freeze plan with international support. Mere hours before the planned nuclear attack, Japan enacts the deep freeze plan. Godzilla is provoked into expending its atomic breath and energy against American drones. The team then detonates explosives in nearby buildings and in trains sent towards Godzilla's feet, knocking the monster down and giving tankers full of coagulant an opportunity to inject it into Godzilla's mouth. Though many are killed in the process, Godzilla is frozen solid. In the aftermath, it is discovered that the Godzilla fallout has a very short half-life and that Tokyo can soon be reconstructed. The international community agrees to cancel the nuclear attack but has the new Japanese government agree that, in the event of Godzilla's reawakening, an immediate thermonuclear strike will be executed. The movie ends with a shot of Godzilla's tail, showing humanoid Godzilla-like creatures in the process of emerging. Information from ''Wikipedia'' MonsterVerse 2019 Sequel to 2014's Godzilla Warning! This section contains some spoilers! 5 years after the existence of giant creatures known as "Titans" that ruled the world before humankind was exposed to the world, Dr. Emma Russell, a paleobiologist who works for the crypto-zoological organization Monarch, which seeks out and studies the Titans, and her daughter Madison witness the birth of a larva dubbed Mothra. Emma calms Mothra down with the "Orca", a device capable of emitting frequencies that can attract or alter Titan behavior. A group of eco-terrorists, led by Alan Jonah, suddenly attack the base and kidnap Emma and Madison. Mothra flees and pupates under a waterfall. Monarch scientists Dr. Ishirō Serizawa and Dr. Vivienne Graham approach Mark Russell, Emma's ex-husband and Madison's father, to track them down. Mark is reluctant at first, due to his hatred for Godzilla (who he blames for the death of Madison’s brother Andrew) but he eventually agrees. The Monarch team follow Godzilla to Antarctica, where Jonah intends to free a three-headed Titan codenamed "Monster Zero", an alleged rival alpha to Godzilla. Emma frees and awakens Monster Zero, which kills several Monarch members, including Dr. Graham, before battling Godzilla and escaping. The team realizes that Emma was not kidnapped by the terrorists, but was secretly working with them. Emma contacts them and argues that the Titans must be awakened in order to heal the Earth from damages that humans have caused. Jonah and Emma awaken another Titan, Rodan, in Mexico. Monarch lures Rodan into fighting the approaching Monster Zero, but Monster Zero swiftly defeats Rodan before being ambushed by Godzilla, who severs his left head. During the fight, the Navy launches a prototype missile called the "Oxygen Destroyer", seemingly killing Godzilla. Monster Zero, who is completely unaffected, regrows his lost head, and awakens all the other dormant Titans around the world, with Rodan submitting to his rule. Disillusioned and feeling betrayed, Madison disowns her mother. Through mythological texts, Dr. Ilene Chen discovers that Monster Zero is Ghidorah, an ancient alien seeking to transform the Earth to his own liking. Mothra emerges from her cocoon and flies to Monarch's Bermuda base to communicate with Godzilla, who survived the detonation and is recuperating in an ancient underwater city. Via submarine, the team locates Godzilla's lair, where the whole area is highly radioactive. They deduce that it will take far too long for Godzilla to heal on his own, and decide to detonate a nuclear warhead to speed up the process. Dr. Serizawa sacrifices himself by manually detonating the weapon, which revives Godzilla and increases his power. In Boston, Emma realizes that the destruction that Ghidorah and the other Titans will bring to the world is much worse than what humans could inflict, but Jonah ignores her pleas to turn back. Madison overhears this and steals the Orca. Arriving at Fenway Park, Madison broadcasts a frequency that calms the Titans and unwittingly attracts all of them to her location. Ghidorah lands in Boston to destroy the Orca, with Godzilla arriving with Monarch's assistance to engage it. Mark leads a team to rescue Madison and escape the city after learning that Godzilla's radiation levels are increasing and will lead to a thermonuclear explosion. Mothra arrives to help Godzilla, but is intercepted by Rodan, who she gets the upper hand on. Just as Ghidorah overpowers Godzilla and prepares to kill him, Mothra sacrifices herself and transfers her energy to Godzilla, rapidly healing him. Mark, Emma, and Madison are reunited and reactivate the Orca to lure Ghidorah away from Godzilla. Emma sacrifices herself, giving Mark and Madison time to escape. Godzilla enters a newly-empowered state, glowing red and melting everything around him. In this state, he easily defeats Ghidorah and disintegrates him completely with several nuclear pulses. After Godzilla reverts to his normal state, Rodan and the other Titans arrive and bow down to him. During the credits, news clippings and Monarch files show that the Titans are helping to heal the planet, a suspected second Mothra egg has been discovered, some of the Titans are converging on Skull Island, and ancient cave paintings show Godzilla battling Kong. In a post-credits scene, Jonah and his forces purchase Ghidorah's severed left head in Mexico. Information from ''Wikipedia'' Godzilla vs Kong Coming Soon... Abilities Atomic Breath Godzilla's signature weapon is his distinctive atomic breath. Godzilla's dorsal plates glow ominously, and then he lets loose with a concentrated blast of radiation from his mouth. This power is often mistaken for Breathing Fire. God-like Strength As expected because of his size, weight and mass, Godzilla has shown great levels of physical strength, able to lift weights exceeding 100,000 tons (shown when he threw Keizer Ghidorah) and smash skyscrapers. He has been depicted lifting and throwing monsters in excess of his own weight, such as King Ghidorah, Hedorah, Mechagodzilla, Biollante and others. He channels his strength through his tail, teeth, and claws and can deliver serious damages to his opponents, despite his huge size he can perform a dropkick on his opponents, he also has some knowledge relating to judo, wrestling, and boxing. Durability Godzilla is physically immune to conventional weaponry such as tanks and missiles and is capable of taking strong hits harsh injury from other Monsters along with having the ability to Regenerate. The secret to Godzilla's Durability is his Regenerator G-1 cell Amphibiousness Godzilla is capable of living, swimming and breathing underwater for as long as he wants. He also is great at fighting underwater and has fought enemies underwater on several occasions. Nuclear Pulse Godzilla can emit atomic energy in all directions from every inch of his body to create a short-range nuclear pulse. Magnetic Powers In Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla, Godzilla found a way to generate powerful magnetic fields from his body after being struck several times by lightning, which proved devastating against his metallic foe. Fan fiction appearances Category:Godzilla Category:Monsters Category:Kaiju Category:Dinosaurs Category:Reptiles Category:Sea Creatures Category:Living characters Category:Deceased characters Category:Villains Category:Heroes Category:Titans